


Choose  Your Own Adventure: Love Triangle

by pherryt



Series: Tumblr Ficlets [7]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Choose Your Own Adventure, Dean gets sick, First Kiss, Highschool AU, Hospital, Implied Sexual Content, Jealous Cas, Love Confessions, Love Triangle, M/M, Tumblr Prompts, michael is not an ass in either option
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-18
Updated: 2017-06-18
Packaged: 2018-11-15 18:55:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11237148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pherryt/pseuds/pherryt
Summary: Prompt: I can’t watch you with someone else. It’s tearing me apart.Destiel – Cas is jealous of Dean/MichaelHow  will this end? Will Dean stay with Michael or will he and Cas get together? You get to choose.





	1. Castiels' Accidental Love Confession

**Author's Note:**

> So after the original prompt, I got 2 requests to continue the story - but the requests were for two different directions, so i made it a bit of a game - feel free to read them all, or skip ahead to the continuation you want :D
> 
> prompt one 892 words

Everyone said they were made for each other.

Everyone.

Even Cas, as much as he hated every minute of watching his best friend dating his brother.

Dean and Cas had been best friends ever since middle school, when Cas had been jumped a grade (Cas was almost a year younger than Dean) and Dean’s family had just moved into town. Being the only two ‘outsiders’ in already formed cliques, they’d naturally gravitated towards each other. Despite their differences, they’d become the best of friends.

And Cas had fallen in love.

He hadn’t realized it then, of course, but by the time they’d hit high school, it had become quite clear to Cas that yes, Cas loved Dean more than anything. Because that’s when Dean had started dating Castiel’s older brother Michael.

Dean had spent the entire previous 2 years gushing over Michael, gazing at him longingly and sighing wistfully. And Cas had borne it, because Dean had still hung out with  _him._ Dean still confided all his secrets to  _him._

Cas thought the day Dean told him that Michael – now a senior and almost 18 - had officially asked Dean out was the worst day of his life.

He’d been wrong.

Cas was frowning at the clock in his room. Dean had excused himself to get them some snacks nearly 20 minutes before and hadn’t come back and this project was due tomorrow. Cas had given him extra time because he’d heard Michael coming in from football practice only moments before that and figured Dean had gone to say hello.

Dean had a tendency to get distracted, and Dean and Michael kissing was certainly something Cas didn’t want to see. Just seeing them _hold hands_ made his stomach twist, though he did his best to hide it. After all, what kind of brother and best friend was he, if he couldn’t be happy that Dean and Michael were happy?

But enough was enough. They didn’t have a lot of time left to finish. Cas stood up and went downstairs to the kitchen, but there was no sign of Dean or the snacks. With a sigh, he made his way back upstairs and to Michaels room. The door was cracked open, so he thought nothing of giving a perfunctory knock before pushing his way in.

“Michael, is Dean in here? We have to –“ Cas froze, his words coming to a stop with a strangled sound. The last thing he’d expected was to find Dean and his brother completely naked and… _oh god_ …bile rose in his throat as he stared at them in horror. He clapped a hand over his mouth and ran.

He didn’t even bother shutting the bathroom door behind him before he fell to the floor and threw up in the toilet. The image of Dean and Michael was burned into his eyes. Every time he thought he could get back up, another flash of the two of them – of what they’d been doing – would thrust itself to the forefront of his mind and he’d gag and heave over the toilet again.

“Cas? Cas, are you okay?” It was Dean’s voice. He was surprised it wasn’t Michael, but Cas couldn’t turn to look. He shook and heaved again. A hand touched his back and he flinched away.

“Don’t touch me!” he croaked hoarsely.

“Whoa! Dude! What the hell? I thought you were sick but…are you  _mad_ at me? Wait…” Dean paused, obviously thinking, “Wait, are you  _disgusted_  by me? ‘Cause I’m gay, Cas?”

Castiel braced himself on the toilet and turned to stare at Dean in astonishment. “How could you ever  _think_ that?”

“I dunno, Cas, but ever since your brother and I started dating, you’ve been…distant. And you don’t want me to touch you. You’ve brushed me off a number of times, and you always look…sick…when Michael and I are together. What else should I think?”

“You think that…?” Cas barked a harsh laugh, tears running from his eyes. “You’re a moron, Dean. How can you even  _think_ that when all I’ve ever  _wanted_ was you?”

Cas was sobbing now, and he no longer cared what Dean heard. He couldn’t keep this in any more. He couldn’t keep pretending it didn’t bother him.

“I can’t keep watching you with someone else. It’s tearing me apart. I was distant because I was trying not to be jealous, brushed you off so I could give you and Michael time together. I thought that’s what you wanted. I thought that at least if I couldn’t be happy, I could do my best to ensure that you and my brother were. But it’s killing me. I love you and I can’t…can’t do this anymore…”

Cas pushed to his feet blindly and shoved his way past a completely stunned and silent Dean. Shoved past his brother who was still tucking his shirt back into his pants.

“Hey, Castiel, what’s wrong?” Michael, obviously, had missed out on his sudden declaration.

Screw the project, he needed to get out of here, needed to get some air. He’d just ruined any friendship he had with Dean, and who knew how he was going to be able face Michael after this. He thundered down the stairs, shoved his feet into his sneakers, grabbed his trenchcoat, and ducked out the door, ignoring all calls of his name to come back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you'd like the Destiel conclusion to this, simply move on to chapter 2 and 3  
> If you'd prefer the Michael option, go directly to [Chapter 4 ](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11237148/chapters/25113978) and 5
> 
> (though there is nothing wrong with reading them all if you'd like :D )
> 
> OH! Note - forgot to note the ages since mostly it doesn't come up in the story: Michael is a senior, almost 18. Dean and Cas are both Juniors, but Cas is 16 and Dean's 17


	2. A - Destiel Option : Dean Resolves to go After Cas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean's miserable after Cas disappears and he and Michael have a talk about what he really wants.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 931 words

  
Weeks Cas had been avoiding him, and it was making Dean miserable. He didn’t know how to be without his best friend. Michael was great and all, but Cas had been special.

 He was only starting to just realize how much Cas actually meant to him, now that Cas was gone. But he also liked Michael and now Dean was feeling really fucking guilty.

 And the one person he could always count on to help him work through things wouldn’t even come within 100 feet of him.

Dean wasn’t even sure how Cas was even doing it. They had all the same classes together. They had that project that they were supposed to finish together (newsflash, they hadn’t. And they’d both gotten chewed out by the teacher for that) and, oh yeah, Dean was over at Cas’s house almost every night.

But somehow, Cas had become an expert at avoiding him.

A hand landed on his shoulder and rubbed at the tension there. Dean sighed and relaxed into Michaels touch. “Hey, Cas still not talking to you?” Dean shook his head with a frown. “What happened, Dean? What are you two not telling me? Something big happened. Cas doesn’t just act like this…”

“I don’t wanna talk about it, Mikey,” Dean sighed, closing his eyes. A headache forming between them.

“Of course. _Neither_ of you want to talk about it. My own _brother_ won’t even look me in the eye,” Michael sighed and sat next to Dean, turning to face him. “I’ve given you both your space, hoping the two of you would work it out, but I don’t like being put in the middle of whatever the two of you have got going on. You need to talk it out, whatever it is.”

“I’ve tried! Don’t you think I haven’t tried?” Dean cried out, feeling his eyes burning. “I can’t get anywhere near him. He’s not answering his calls, or his emails. He’s been hanging out with Meg and you  _know_  how she loves to give me the runaround. You know how into him she is. She would do  _anything_ to drive a wedge between us!”

“Why?” Michael asked calmly.

“Why? What do you mean, why?” Dean startled, surprised by the question and getting defensive. Did Michael know about Cas’s feelings for Dean? (Or of Dean’s for Cas?)

“I mean, why would Meg want to drive a wedge between you?” Michael figured if he went at the questioning at an oblique angle, he might get Dean to reveal more than he’d meant to, might get him to come to his sense, finally.

“I – I dunno,” Dean shrugged, trying not to look away guiltily. “Guess she always figured me an’ Cas were too close, and that because of that, she didn’t have a chance of dating him.”

“Was she right?” Michael asked.

“What? What do you mean - ?” Dean’s eyes widened as the implications of his boyfriend’s words registered. The way he and Cas had been acting for the past few weeks was probably pretty suspicious and Michael had to be _pissed_. “Fuck! No! Dude, I’m dating you! Why would you ask…I’m not cheating on you!” Dean’s breathing was harsh, scared. It wasn’t a lie, but at the same time, his heart squeezed.

“Dean, I didn’t say you were,” Michael reassured him quickly. Dean relaxed, but Michael pushed on. “But admit it. If you and I weren’t dating, you’d be on Cas in a heartbeat.”

“I-I – “ Dean shifted his eyes away, unable to look at Michael any more. What was he implying now? That he _knew_ Dean wanted to be with Cas? That Dean loved him? Did he know that Cas loved Dean? He swallowed against the lump in his throat and tears threatened his eyes again. “Michael, I like you.”

“I know. And I you. Certainly, there’s attraction there. We  _are_ good together. But,” Michael stood up and Dean flinched, “But your heart doesn’t actually lie with me and you shouldn’t lie to yourself any longer. The only people I’ve ever seen as miserable as you are, are couples who’ve broken up. And since  _I_ haven’t broken up with you, I think we both know why that is.”

Michael leaned down, put both hands on Dean’s shoulders and looked him in the eyes. “Look, I always knew that us, we were going to be a fling. We’d have fun and when we were done, we’d part friends. I’m not angry that you have feelings for my brother. I just want both of you to put yourselves out of your miseries and actually  _talk_ to each other.”

“Are we…breaking up?” Dean asked hesitantly.

“Yes, Dean, we are. I think we’ve about run our course anyway. So, go get him.” Michael let go of one shoulder and hauled Dean up off the bed by the other. Dean still hesitated. “Honest, no hard feelings.” Michael smiled at Dean warmly. “Just make him happy, that’s all I ask.”

Dean nodded, then darted out of the room. Michael sat back down just as Gabriel knocked on the open door frame.

“Well, that sure was some self-sacrificing shit. Did you mean any of it?” Gabriel sauntered in and leaned a hip on Michaels desk.

Michael nodded. “I did. I always knew the two of them loved each other. But Dean needed to get me out of his system first, and Cas needed a shock to get him to admit it.”

“Wow…I can’t tell if you’re the best brother ever, or a total dick,” Gabriel said in awe.

“I’m good with both,” Michael grinned back.


	3. A - Dean's Dramatics Lead to Destiel...Eventually

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean finally corners Cas. Sort of. THings can only look up from here, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1709 words - and this wasn't meant to get so 'dramatic' but I mean, it Dean and Cas. it was bound to get that way, wasn't it?

Of course, once Dean left Michael’s room he realized he still had the problem of Cas avoiding him. How could he talk with him, how could he tell him, if Dean couldn’t get anywhere _near_ him?

Getting into the Impala, Dean drove home deep in thought. Maybe Sam could help him out.

In the end, no amount of planning helped. It became a waiting game. First, Dean and Michael made sure everyone knew they’d broken up, but on good terms. Then, when Cas still managed to duck out of every possible situation he and Dean could meet up in, Dean turned to other methods.

He started leaving notes in Cas’s locker.

Of course, there was always the idea that Cas would just toss them away, ignore them the way he’d been ignoring all of Dean’s other attempts at contacting him – the phone calls and texts, the emails. Even Facebook instant message, that’s how desperate Dean had been (still was, but it was clear he needed to admit defeat on that avenue).

So to find out whether Cas was even reading the notes, Dean enlisted Charlies help.

Of course, at first she didn’t even want to talk to him, but once he got her to listen she started grinning and bouncing on the balls of her feet.

“I’ll go over there, all Mission Impossible,” she was fiddling with her phone and suddenly it blared out the theme song and Dean cursed, snatching it from her hands.

“Not very subtle Red, he’s sure to know somethings up if you do _that,_ ” Dean pointed out.

She pouted. “But I was gonna be a super spy! You ruin all my fun.” He gave her a look and she rolled her eyes and let out a huffy, “Fine!” before scampering off after getting her phone back from him.

And then Dean waited. And waited. He watched Cas from across the room in class – Cas having switched his seat to be nowhere near Dean, of course – and moped. Cas couldn’t avoid him forever, could he?

He was so preoccupied with trying to get Cas’s attention, that Dean wasn’t even noticing the slip in his grades, or his appetite. He stopped going to the games, or even hanging out with his friends. When he wasn’t in school, he was trying to think of some way he could corner Cas and get him to listen!

Dean was so frustrated he was near tears! And Michael was no help. Apparently, all attempts to talk to his brother was met with slamming doors and a silent treatment the likes of which no one in his household had ever been subjected to before.

“I knew Cassie was stubborn, but I had no idea he was _this_ stubborn. Sorry, Dean,” Michael said with a grimace before running off to practice.

Dean couldn’t even enlist Gabriel’s aid since the eldest Novak had returned to college. There was no use in asking Meg, she delighted in stonewalling him.

It had been a month since he and Michael had broken up and Dean was no closer to getting Cas to listen to him than he’d been when it all had started. He didn’t know how much more of this he could take. He felt so fucking alone…the one person he could turn to for help…was the one person he couldn’t get near.

It all came to a head one day in class. Dean had been feeling dizzy all morning, hot and lethargic. He hadn’t taken in a single word said by a teacher and his feet moved at the ringing of each bell on automatic, though they dragged. His eyes kept blurring out and he had a headache too.

Maybe he was sick? Nah, he was just tired. That was all.

He detoured to a bathroom to splash some cold water on his face, trying to cool down and the next thing he knew, was on the floor, someone above him speaking frantically.

“Dean? Dean! Oh my god, Dean! Are you all right?” the voice as familiar, gravelly and welcome. He hadn’t hear it in so long, Dean was sure he was imagining it. Or dreaming. Yeah, that’s what was happening, he was dreaming.

“Cas?” he rocked his head around to try and see him but wound up groaning with how much dizzier it made him feel.

“Don’t move, Dean. I sent Charlie for the nurse, okay?”

“Cas? ‘s really you? I miss ya…” Dean eyes closed, speech slurred.

“No! Keep your eyes open and stay awake! I think you hit your head when you fell. You, you might have a concussion!”

“Oh.” Dean said flatly, “tha’ ‘splains it. Mus’ be…’lucin-a’ing…” Deans tongue felt too thick and hard to move around. “Wish you were real…then…I coul’ tell ya…tha’ I love ya…” Dean could feel the tears rolling down his face like hot brands and he sniffed.

“Oh…oh Dean…” Cas’s voice quivered. _Would a hallucination do that_? Dean wondered before everything was dark again.

Next time he woke up, there was a soft beeping sound to his left and a soft light coming from his right. He didn’t feel as dizzy and hot as he’d been, but he still didn’t have much energy to move. Still, he managed to shift his head towards the sound – and blinked at the hospital monitor thingy he saw there. He was in the hospital? Why?

He shifted again, towards the soft light this time, to find Cas asleep in a chair, his phone held slack in his hand and the light coming from a partially closed door to a bathroom.

_What the hell was going on? And why was Cas here?_ Dean’s heart had leaped at the sight of Cas, the monitor’s beeping jumping out of its set rhythm at the same time. He opened his mouth and found it dry enough that he croaked when he tried to say his best friends name.

Cas jumped, his phone clattering to the ground, suddenly alert and staring at Dean. “Dean! You’re awake!”

“Wha’…ha’ened,” Dean managed around his painfully dry throat.

“Wait, uh…” Cas looked around before lighting on a watercup with a straw and bringing it over, “Drink first, then we can talk.” He held the straw out to Dean and Dean’s eyes watered as he stared up at Cas wonderingly.

“Really?” Dean croaked before Cas literally shoved the straw into his mouth.

“Drink, Dean, then yes, really. We’ll talk, I promise. I’m not gonna run away anymore.” Cas said gently.

While Dean drank, his eyes never left Cas’s face, drinking in every inch of it. How’d he ever mistake what he felt for Michael for _this_? ‘Cause this was the real deal, Dean was sure of it.

With a sigh, Cas started talking. “Okay, so you probably wanna know why you’re in the hospital, right?” Dean nodded, taking another slow sip of lukewarm water through the straw. “Well, I guess you basically ran yourself into the ground, not taking care of yourself, and you got sick from it. You didn’t look all that good in class and…”

Cas looked down for a second, “And I missed you and when you didn’t show up for Trig, I got worried. When I found you in the bathroom, you’d fallen – docs say you probably fainted from dehydration and shit -  and it looks like you hit your head on the sink on the way down. There was blood…” Cas gulped.

“Dean, you scared me…” Cas looked at Dean with sad, soulful eyes and Dean wished he had the energy to lift his hand and twine his fingers in Cas’s. “I thought…I didn’t know what to think. And then…and then…do you remember what you said?”

Dean squinted and thought a minute. What had he said?

“You said you loved me…Did you mean it?” Cas’s voice was so soft, it was almost drowned out by the beeping.

Dean’s fingers twitched, trying to move so he could push the cup away. He opened his mouth to let go of the straw and hoped Cas would get the hint. He did, and he hurriedly put it away, eyes wide as he stared at Dean.

Dean swallowed, “Yeah, Cas. I did mean it. I’m a big, fuckin’ moron, and I don’t know how you could possibly love me, but yeah…I love ya, man. And I’ve never felt so lost without you as I did this past month. I’m so sorry.”

“No, Dean, don’t be sorry. If I’d just talked to you, if I hadn’t been avoiding you, you probably wouldn’t even be in this state, would you?” Cas had always been too smart for Dean’s own good.

Dean grimaced, not wanting to admit it, not wanting to make Cas feel even worse than he already did. If they were honest with each other – and he sure hoped to God they would be, from now on – they were both partially to blame. After all, Dean’s initial obliviousness had led to this.

In a round about fashion.

But that no longer mattered. What mattered was here and now. Him and Cas. Together. Finally.

Cas stroked Deans head, fingers pushing into his hair, longer right now than usual since he’d let himself go so much. “I’m sorry, Dean,” he whispered.

“No, Cas, don’t…we’re both sorry, so why don’t we just…start over. Maybe with a kiss?” Dean asked hopefully.

“A kiss seems an appropriate fresh start for us,” Castiel said breathlessly and with amusement, his eyes shining brightly.

“Glad you agree,” Dean chuckled lightly, still so weak and tired.

They stared at each other another, long moment, Cas’s fingers still in Dean’s hair, scratching just enough that if Dean were a cat, he’d have purred. He grinned at Cas as he waited for his kiss, his fresh start. _Their_ fresh start.

“Oh!” Cas blinked and then smiled, leaning down to tentatively kiss Dean.

It was awkward and clumsy and was instantly the best kiss he’d ever received. Dean knew this kiss, this first kiss with _Cas,_ would be something he’d remember and treasure for the rest of his life.

And when he fell back asleep, in a more natural slumber this time, Cas had dragged his chair over and laid his head against Dean’s, their fingers twined on the bed together.


	4. B - Michael Goes After His Brother

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> But Dean doesn't feel that way about Cas - now what?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I just saw your angsty Dean/Michael-Destiel love triangle thing... if you're doing a continuation, could we have a happy ending for Michael/Dean? Maybe spice it up and have Dean and Cas make up (maybe cas even moves on) but Dean and Michael stay together? "
> 
> 683 words

Cas ran passed Michael so fast, Michael felt his shirt ripple and shift. His head followed Cas’s movement past him and he blinked.

“Uh…what happened?” Michael asked dumbly, turning to his boyfriend. Dean stood frozen in the bathroom, not even looking at Michael. “Dean?” Michael hurried over and carefully stepped around his boyfriend till he could see his face. Green eyes stared at him blankly.

“Dean?” Michael asked more softly, placing a hand on his shoulder. Dean blinked and shook himself and finally _looked_ at Michael.

He gasped, “Shit…Cas!”

“Wait! Dean, what happened?” Michael was beginning to feel like a broken record.

“I’m still not sure? I think…I thought…I thought Cas was mad at me, then I thought…he might have been homophobic because of…of some things and when I said…I told him why I thought…he…he…I think we – _I_ – broke his heart.” Dean stared at Michael in horror.

“What are you talking about?” Michael asked slowly.

“Michael, what are we going to do?” Dean clutched at his boyfriend desperately, needing to feel Michaels arms around him, needing reassurance that it would all work out all right.

Michael gave him that, but he was still confused. “Dean…I can’t answer your question because I still don’t know what happened. Please, just, take a deep breath and try again.”

“You know how I’ve told you how strange Cas has been acting lately? How you said you saw it too? Well, it wasn’t what we thought.” Dean took a deep breath, “Cas just confessed his love for me.”

Michael blinked. “I…can’t say I expected that though, you are pretty easy to love.”

“Mikey, he’s my best friend…and I love him but…not like _that._ What am I gonna do? I never wanted to hurt him,” Dean breathed, leaning into Michael.

Michael shook his head. “I don’t know. I never wanted to hurt my brother either. But at the same time,” Michael trailed the back of his hand against Dean’s cheek, Dean closing his eyes and settling into the touch. “I don’t wanna give you up,” Michael whispered.

They stood there for long moments in the bathroom before either of them spoke again. “Look, you stay here, I’ll go look for Cas and talk to him, okay?”

Dean looked around and then back up at his boyfriend, raising an eyebrow. “In here? With the stink?” Dean wrinkled his nose. Michael rolled his eyes, reached over and flushed.

“There, the stink is gone, so if you wanna stay in here, you can, but I meant here in the house. It’s Friday, will your dad miss you if you don’t go home tonight?” Michael asked. Dean shook his head. “Good, then you go make yourself comfortable in my room and I’ll text you as soon as I find him, okay?”

“Yeah, okay, thanks Mikey,” Dean hugged him before sharing a brief kiss, then reluctantly letting Michael go.

Michael had been gone for hours. It had taken a while before Dean had gotten the one text that said “Found him”, and it was taking even longer for them to return home.

But know that Cas wasn’t out there alone while he was so upset made Dean feel slightly better. Just enough for Dean to fall into an uneasy sleep while he waited, tangled in the blankets of Michaels bed. He woke with a start as Michael slid into the bed beside him.

“Sshh…” Michael soothed. “Go back to sleep.”

“But what about…” Dean asked anxiously.

“He’s all right now. I mean…” Michael sighed. “Not all right. It’ll take him a while to get over this but…he’s in bed, safe. And he talked to me, we cleared the air, told me what he’s been feeling. And he agreed to talk to you tomorrow too, after you’ve both slept and calmed down some.” Michael threaded his fingers into Dean’s hair the way he knew Dean liked and urged his boyfriend to fall back into sleep.

Dean murmured, “But he’s okay?”

“He will be,” Michael kissed Dean’s temple, then snuggled closer, smiling as he felt his boyfriend relaxing into him. “We’ll make sure of it, together.”


	5. B - Dean Has a Heart to Heart with His Best Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean talks to his best friend, afraid this will be the end of their friendship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 919 words and a conclusion to the option B - Michael and Dean stay together portion of this story.

The next morning found Dean tentatively knocking on the door frame of a room he’d never hesitated to just waltz into before. He stood awkwardly outside of Cas’s room, uncertain of his reception, biting at his lip. “Hey um…can I come in?”

Cas sat up on his bed, taking his headphones off and swung his legs over to sit on the edge of it, his arms resting nervously on his legs. He nodded, throat tight. Dean let out a sigh of relief and padded inside, barefoot, dragging the desk chair out and dropping in it, facing Cas.

No one spoke for several long, awkward filled moments.

“I’m so sorry, Dean. You must hate me.” Cas said miserably, not looking Dean in the eyes.

“Why? Frankly, I’m kinda flattered. Actually, anyone should be flattered if you fell in love with them, cause you’re awesome! I mean, of course you are, that’s why you’re my best friend.” Dean winced internally at his nervous babbling, though none of it was a lie. “I’m just…god, you must hate me for being such a dumb ass. Best friends, and I didn’t even notice that…and how much you must have been hurting because of me. It’s killing me that you’re hurting and it’s all my fault. I wish to god I felt the same, so you wouldn’t have to.”

“No, Dean, don’t feel guilty. You…you can’t help who you fall in love with,” Cas said bitterly.

“I guess,” Dean sighed. “But I gotta admit, I’m scared, man. I don’t know how to fix this, how to make things better for you. And…and you and Sam and Mikey, you three mean the world to me. You’re my rock and…this is gonna break us, isn’t it?” Dean was trying to hold back the tears but it was hard, especially when he managed to raise his eyes and saw the tears flowing freely down Cas’s face.

Cas sniffled and wiped his nose, “Why would you think that?”

“Because we see it every day at school, don’t we? All those couples that say they’ll stay friends after an amicable breakup and they never do!” Dean’s eyes were a little wild and frantic. The idea of losing his best friend hurt bad and yet, he realized suddenly, it must have been nothing to the way Cas was hurting. Had been hurting all along.

“Dean,” Cas finally dared to lean forward and touched Deans arm. “We’re not the same as them. I…I can’t say if or when I’ll ever get over…” he waved his hand vaguely between them and gulped, “But I could no more stomach the loss of your friendship then lose my brother because of this. If the two of you are happy, two my favorite people in the world, I’ll just…have to learn how to deal.”

“So now what?” Dean whispered hopefully.

“I don’t know…”

“Maybe…maybe Mikey and I could uh, cut back on the PDA when you’re around. Would that help? I’m sure he’d agree to do it, for you, Cas.” Dean cast about for anything, but it was all he could come up with.

Cas opened his mouth and then closed it, tilting his head thoughtfully. “I would like to say you shouldn’t have to do that, and you shouldn’t but…maybe…maybe at first, just to…to ease me into this?”

Michael joined them then, stepping into the room and Dean wondered how long he’d been standing out of sight in the hall, making sure the both of them were okay. He stood close behind Dean but didn’t touch him. “Whatever we can do to help, Cas. Dean’s right. Neither of us want to make things worse for you.”

Cas nodded, but his face worked and twisted in that way that both Dean and Michael knew he was trying not to cry again. “I’m…I’m sorry, Michael…” he whispered brokenly.

“Hey, little brother,” Michael moved to his brother’s side and knelt beside the bed, “don’t be sorry! It just shows you’ve got great taste. We’ll just have to see if we can find anybody as good as Dean for ya. When you’re ready, of course.”

“Hey! Yeah, Cas! I can be your wingman!” Dean perked up a little. “Just give the word, buddy.”

“You know, if we’re going to help Cassie find someone, we’re gonna have to make a checklist. Make sure whoever it is will be good enough for the pipsqueak,” said another voice from behind them all. They saw Gabriel leaning nonchalantly on the door frame.

“Cas isn’t a pipsqueak, he’s bigger than you are!” Dean said indignantly on behalf of his best friend.

“By like, this much!” Gabriel held his fingers together in protest.

Michael snorted. “In your dreams, Gabe. More like by 2 inches, and I’m pretty sure Cas isn’t done growing yet. Trust me, you’re the pipsqueak here.”

Cas laughed wetly and suddenly launched himself at Michael, grabbing him in a hug. “Thank you, all of you. I don’t deserve any of you.”

“Course you do, Cas. We all love ya. So uh, does this mean we’re good?” Dean looked at him with such hopeful eyes that Cas couldn’t help smiling back and nodding. He took a deep breath. It did hurt, seeing Michael with Dean, but that they cared about him so much, that they didn’t belittle his feelings, it meant a lot to him.

Hopefully, he could get past this. For all their sakes. It would be hard, he was sure, but this…this helped. Their support and love, it helped a lot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this ride - it was a little different, but fun to do.


End file.
